


maki reluctantly engages in conversation, somehow

by rorschachphysician



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: F/F, Please be nice, i just think theyre neat actually, maki is less mean than usual because i need development to actually happen within 1.3k words, makis a lesbian but theyre in denial, who knew my first published fic was going to be dr related
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:15:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25229704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rorschachphysician/pseuds/rorschachphysician
Summary: “Are you interrogating me?” Maki asks plainly, furrowing their eyebrows and glaring at the girl, as if trying to see right through her. They shift a little in their seat, lips stretched in a thin line; beating around the bush is not something they are fond of.Kaede freezes, widening her eyes like a deer caught in headlights (an especially clueless and naive deer, Maki thinks. And a complete waste of their time). “No, of course not! That’s not what I was trying to do, promise!”
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Harukawa Maki
Comments: 5
Kudos: 20





	maki reluctantly engages in conversation, somehow

Maki waits with bated breath for everyone else to file out the classroom. They sit as still as a statue, only allowing themselves to exhale softly once they’re finally the only one left. A quiet lunch in solitude—that’s what they want right now. Eating in the cafeteria certainly wouldn’t do, as they’re sure to be the only one without anyone to comfortably sit next to. Not that Maki wants or needs anyone to sit next to—it’s just that receiving pity for being the new kid does not exactly appeal to them. Just thinking about it puts a bad taste in their mouth.

They grit their teeth. Transferring to a new school in the middle of the semester… what were they thinking?

Maki grumbles under their breath, takes out their neatly-packed bento, and pops open the lid. They’ll brood over all this while they eat.

Or not, because right as Maki pulls out their chopsticks, the classroom door slides open.

A plump blonde walks in, looking a little confused. A beat, and then her face lights up and she walks over to what Maki assumes is her desk (hopefully it’s her desk; why would she be there otherwise?).

Ah, it seems like the girl forgot her own bento.

Hoping that that’s all the blonde is here for, Maki does not spare her another glance.

“Hi! You’re Maki Harukawa, right?”

Maki’s hopes are shattered.

“I’m Kaede. Kaede Akamatsu! Sorry that I didn’t see you earlier, I was so focused on getting my lunch!”

Maki looks up to find this… “Kaede” character now approaching them with a sheepish expression plastered over her face. She’s just like a helpless lamb, Maki thinks. So easy to manipulate that it’d almost make them feel bad afterwards. They look away, not wanting to meet her gaze, and stare out the window instead. Please, get out.

“So how’s school life been? I know you only transferred recently.”

A small part of Maki wants to keep ignoring her, in vain hope that if they do it enough, she would leave them be. They begin picking at their lunch. This airheaded girl doesn’t seem like she’s worth talking to anyways. 

Kaede takes a seat next to Maki. The silence stretches. Maki begins to pick at their lunch again, paying no mind to how they’re probably supposed to answer Kaede’s question.

“So, um.” Kaede turns toward them, playing with her hair a little awkwardly. “Have you made any friends yet?”

Great, so this girl isn’t going to leave them be. As if Maki hasn’t made it clear enough that they want to eat alone.

“You know, Maki, I—”

“Are you interrogating me?” Maki asks plainly, furrowing their eyebrows and glaring at the girl, as if trying to see right through her. They shift a little in their seat, lips stretched in a thin line; beating around the bush is not something they are fond of.

Kaede freezes, widening her eyes like a deer caught in headlights (an especially clueless and naive deer, Maki thinks. And a complete waste of their time). “No, of course not! That’s not what I was trying to do, promise!”

“Then what are you trying to do, miss Akamatsu?”

“Oh! Um, it’s just that…” Kaede twiddles with her fingers, glances at Maki, and looks away. 

“Cut to the point.”

“You looked lonely, okay?” Kaede says, now speaking with a certain tone of conviction. “I’m sorry if I… if I scared you or anything, but I didn’t want you to sit all alone after seeing you!”

Maki frowns. Lonely? No, that’s not what they are (they think). They scoff, rolling their eyes and looking away again. It’s almost funny imagining being scared of someone like Kaede. From their peripheral vision, they can see her slowly putting her hands on her lap instead, looking expectantly in Maki’s direction.

“Like I’d be scared by the likes of you,” Maki says, sensing that Kaede was waiting for a response. “Being alone is a preference,” they add, hoping that Kaede will finally catch the hint. Seeing that she hasn’t up to this point, though, Maki’s expectations are practically nonexistent.

“Well, I think it’s always nice to have someone to eat with! Things don’t taste the same when you’re all by yourself, you know?” Kaede tacks on, her spirit rekindled (Maki now thinks that they shouldn’t have encouraged her with a response at all).

“Like I’d know,” Maki mutters, halfheartedly looking at their lunch again and picking out a small bite. Kaede looks sympathetically at them before scooting a little closer. 

“So what’s your favorite subject?”

“You’re not giving up, are you?”

“Well, I’m not sure what I’d be giving up on.”

“Talking to me.”

“We’re still doing it now, aren’t we?”

Maki sighs. If anything, Kaede has a talent for being very, very persistent. She’s now playing with the hem of her skirt, perhaps subconsciously, while swinging her legs. Clearly, Kaede isn’t taking Maki’s silence for an answer and is absolutely willing to wait it out.

Maki bites their bottom lip. If anything, it’ll be better to just get this over with, they decide.

“I like biology, I suppose,” Maki says begrudgingly. Did they really like biology? They aren’t very sure, but it isn’t as if they hated it, so it’s not a completely invalid answer. They flinch in surprise when Kaede makes a… squealing noise(?) and begins very lightly rocking in her chair.

“Oh, I like biology too! But I’m more of a chemistry person, broadly speaking,” she says enthusiastically, and the smile she has on her face is… impossibly exuberant, given the rather mundane situation. Maki wonders what she’s so ecstatic about. Their response was underwhelming, at best.

“So why do you like biology so much, Maki?”

Great, now Maki has to actually engage in a proper conversation. They wonder how Kaede managed to rope them into this. And then they wonder how Kaede puts up with talking to them.

“It’s interesting.”

“Interesting how?”

“It… just is? I don’t know.” They keep their responses brief, but Kaede doesn’t seem any less motivated. In fact, every word that Maki speaks seems to only fuel her. 

“Hmm, okay. So do you have any pets?”

“What does that have to do with school?”

“Nothing. Does it have to be related?”

Maki supposes not. They seem thoughtful for a few long moments.

“Yes.” They run a hand through one of their pigtails. “But it drowned last week.” When they see Kaede’s mortified expression, they realize that that didn’t particularly sound like a joke. 

“I’m kidding,” they say exasperatedly, rolling their eyes again. “I’ve never had a pet.”

“O-oh, I see!” Kaede lets out a laugh, albeit one that sounds quite strained. “You sure have… a unique sense of humor, Maki. Anyways, umm, I’ve never had a pet before, but I’ve always wanted one!” She picks at her lips absently, as if trying to collect her thoughts. “I think the pet I want most is a horse.”

Maki raises a questioning eyebrow. A horse… well, at this point they would be surprised if Kaede didn’t catch them off-guard with everything she says.

“You wouldn’t happen to own any place suitable for raising a horse, would you?” They say snidely.

“Well, no, I can’t imagine affording that. But I’ve done lots of research, I promise! I’ll own a horse someday,” she replies with a determined gleam in her eyes. She begins rocking in her chair again. “Before that, though, I think I would settle for a tarantula.” This makes the faintest urge of a chuckle rise up in Maki’s throat, but they resist. 

“You seem to have plenty of plans for your future already.”

“It’s always good to be prepared!” Kaede pumps her fists, about to say something more before the shrill sound of the bell takes both of them by surprise. Kaede looks at Maki, then smiles brightly again. 

“Well, Maki, it was really nice talking to you!”

Maki scoffs again, telling Kaede that she should return to her seat. They look back at their half-finished lunch, wondering what in the world just happened for them to talk with someone like… like Kaede.

They sure won’t forget that smile anytime soon.

**Author's Note:**

> this was actually based around a dr roleplay i did with my girlfriend (she was kaede and i was maki)! i modified some parts of it since i only wrote from maki's perspective and the pacing needed to be a little different


End file.
